McCrory and fracking

By Tom Balsanek, New Bern

Published: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 at 11:16 AM.

The Dec. 15 Sun Journal editorial praised governor-elect Pat McCrory’s Fox News Channel Nov. 12 interview where he discussed creating jobs in North Carolina by looking to the energy sector and tapping the state’s rich supply of natural gas. The editorial stated that “McCrory has a strong knowledge of the business from his long tenure with Duke Energy.” It went on to say that “…the new governor is sure to encounter opposition from environmentalists and the Obama administration, but McCrory made it clear he wants to work with the president to advance the country’s independence from foreign energy.” The new governor was praised by the editorial for what it saw as his efforts to collaborate across party lines and regionally as well as seeking out new ways to turn North Carolina’s economy around.

The rich untapped natural gas resources that are in shale formations within the United States are being released through a new process called fracking. By using this new process and tapping the rich natural gas resources in North Carolina the new governor is looking to create new jobs.

Fracking is controversial. Within each borehole are injected around 80,000 pounds of 65 different chemicals causing the shale formation to fracture thereby releasing the natural gas. Many of these chemicals are thought to be hazardous to humans. In addition, there is as much as 3.5 million gallons of water used. “Gasland,” a documentary film by Josh Fox and nominated for an Oscar, reports on the hazards of fracking within the United States and its impact on the environment and the citizens. The industry is not required to identify the exact nature of the chemicals utilized as they consider it a “trade secret.” Each company has their own brew of chemicals and they don’t want competitors to gain an edge.

The fact that governor-elect McCrory at one time worked for Duke Energy would for me raise a red flag. Energy companies over the years have been less than friendly to the environment by causing atmospheric and water pollution. Only through federal government and environmentalist’s actions have these companies been forced to reduce pollution discharges to clean our air and water. Secondly I would be concerned that as a Republican the governor-elect represents a party that is not overly friendly to the environment and leans towards favoring business.

I very much favor energy independence for the United States and feel that we need to develop a variety of means to achieve that in a safe manner. Questions for the governor-elect: (1) Can he shed his Duke Energy mentality as well as his Republicanism to ensure that the exploration and release of natural gas in North Carolina through fracking is accomplished in a manner that will not negatively impact its environment and citizens, or will he allow the natural gas industry a free hand regardless of the impact? (2) Will he seek out alternative safe energy sources to boost growth within North Carolina or is he only going to focus on the petroleum sector?

Republicans have been too eager over the years to rape the environment to create jobs and favor business. We need to move cautiously when it comes to fracking. There are still many unknowns and the Obama Administration as well as the environmentalists are correct to be concerned with how this process proceeds.

If the governor-elect takes the approach to tapping the natural gas supply through fracking and there are negative impacts on North Carolina’s environment and its citizens, will the jobs that will be created worth the price? I don’t think so.

The Dec. 15 Sun Journal editorial praised governor-elect Pat McCrory’s Fox News Channel Nov. 12 interview where he discussed creating jobs in North Carolina by looking to the energy sector and tapping the state’s rich supply of natural gas. The editorial stated that “McCrory has a strong knowledge of the business from his long tenure with Duke Energy.” It went on to say that “…the new governor is sure to encounter opposition from environmentalists and the Obama administration, but McCrory made it clear he wants to work with the president to advance the country’s independence from foreign energy.” The new governor was praised by the editorial for what it saw as his efforts to collaborate across party lines and regionally as well as seeking out new ways to turn North Carolina’s economy around.

The rich untapped natural gas resources that are in shale formations within the United States are being released through a new process called fracking. By using this new process and tapping the rich natural gas resources in North Carolina the new governor is looking to create new jobs.

Fracking is controversial. Within each borehole are injected around 80,000 pounds of 65 different chemicals causing the shale formation to fracture thereby releasing the natural gas. Many of these chemicals are thought to be hazardous to humans. In addition, there is as much as 3.5 million gallons of water used. “Gasland,” a documentary film by Josh Fox and nominated for an Oscar, reports on the hazards of fracking within the United States and its impact on the environment and the citizens. The industry is not required to identify the exact nature of the chemicals utilized as they consider it a “trade secret.” Each company has their own brew of chemicals and they don’t want competitors to gain an edge.

The fact that governor-elect McCrory at one time worked for Duke Energy would for me raise a red flag. Energy companies over the years have been less than friendly to the environment by causing atmospheric and water pollution. Only through federal government and environmentalist’s actions have these companies been forced to reduce pollution discharges to clean our air and water. Secondly I would be concerned that as a Republican the governor-elect represents a party that is not overly friendly to the environment and leans towards favoring business.

I very much favor energy independence for the United States and feel that we need to develop a variety of means to achieve that in a safe manner. Questions for the governor-elect: (1) Can he shed his Duke Energy mentality as well as his Republicanism to ensure that the exploration and release of natural gas in North Carolina through fracking is accomplished in a manner that will not negatively impact its environment and citizens, or will he allow the natural gas industry a free hand regardless of the impact? (2) Will he seek out alternative safe energy sources to boost growth within North Carolina or is he only going to focus on the petroleum sector?

Republicans have been too eager over the years to rape the environment to create jobs and favor business. We need to move cautiously when it comes to fracking. There are still many unknowns and the Obama Administration as well as the environmentalists are correct to be concerned with how this process proceeds.

If the governor-elect takes the approach to tapping the natural gas supply through fracking and there are negative impacts on North Carolina’s environment and its citizens, will the jobs that will be created worth the price? I don’t think so.

In a McCrory campaign ad that I saw, he pledged to create jobs within the state by revamping burdensome regulations that negatively impact business growth and the creation of jobs. For several months now it has been reported in the news and again as recently as Nov. 11 on a segment of 60 Minutes that there are over 3 million job vacancies within the United States. Of these 500,000 are in manufacturing. The primary reason that these jobs remain unfilled is that businesses cannot find qualified workers with the required skills to perform the tasks. It is hard to know how many of these vacancies are within North Carolina, but I am sure that it has to be several thousand. I would hope that the new governor and the Republican legislature, as one alternative to dealing with high unemployment within the state, will focus on trying to figure out how to educate/train its citizens to gain the skills required for the new jobs that are and will become available. Revamping burdensome regulations to create business growth is fine but if you don’t have the qualified workers to fill the vacancies, the revamped business regulations are of no value.

The new governor has a real challenge facing him in creating jobs and turning around North Carolina’s economy. It will not be an easy task and I wish him well as he assumes the weighty responsibilities of the governorship. I only hope that he approaches the solution in a smart and balanced way.